Protector



C. R. VOLZ Aug. 12, 1930. v

PROTECTOR Filed Deo. 19,1927

/NVE/vre CHA? e VOLZ Patented Aug. 12, 1930 nrre PTEN'D ortica CHARLESR. VOLZ, F WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA PROTECTOR Application filed December19, 192'?. Serial No. 240,951.

My invention relates to guards for protectinvention has none of thesedisadvantages. ing portions of the body from bruising or Broadlyconsidered, my invention com-v other injury, and particularly to guardsfor prises a padded frame supported by the bodyplayers of football andother athletic sports. area surrounding the region it is desired to Anobject of my invention is to provide a protect. Arched over this frame,and se- 55 'guard or protector which will shield the recured thereto atits opposite edges, is the gion it is desired to guard from the edect ofguard or shield proper, shield and frame a blow or pressure. f being inContact only at the edges where they Another object of my invention isto projoin. A suitable harness holds the protector l0 vide a gua-rdwhich combines lightness and in place.

comfort to the wearer with full protection. For-the purpose of detaileddescription I A further object is to provide a guard have shown a thighvprotector as'embodying which is rigid but which will not be liable tomy 'invention in its preferred form. The inflict injury to anopposingplayer. painful affliction known to athletes as char- Myinvention possesses other objects and ley-horse often results frombruises to the 65 valuable features, some of which will be set belly ofthe long muscles between the hip forth in the following description ofmy inand the knee. The protector described is devention which isillustrated in the drawings signed to prevent this type of injury, butit forming part of the specification. It is to is obvious that the sameprinciples of conbe understood that I do not limit myself'to structionmay be used in protectors designed 70 the showing made by the saiddescription and for almost any part of the body. drawings, as I mayadopt varying forms of As illustrated, a pad 4, which may beof myinvention within the scope of the claims. felt, rests against the leg 6of the wearer.

Referring to the drawings: Over the felt lies a ring-like frame, prefer-Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a thigh proably of vulcanized sheetfiber, comprising the 75 tector embodying my invention; and Figs. 2yokes 7 which conveniently may be inteand 8' are vertical and horizontalsectional gral with side members 8. The whole frame views respectivelyof the same device, the surrounds the region 9 which is to be protect--planes of section being on the lines 2-2 of ed and is complementary tothe adjacent Fig. l in Fig. 2, and 3 3 of Fig. 1 in Fig. 3. body area11. The pad 4 may cover the entire 80 More clearly t-o indicate theapplication of surface as shown, since the felt is so weak in my device,the body of the wearer is shown tensi-on that it will not transmitstresses to the by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3. protected areaormaybecut away at the center Protective armor has been worn by athto preventany contact with the protected reletes since the time of the gladiators;and gion. S5

is familiar to us today in the shoulder guards Arched over the frame isthe shield 12. I of football players, the shin guards of hockey preferto make the shield of vulcanized sheet and baseball players, and thechest protectors liber, but other materials may be used if deworn bybaseball catchers. lnV general, the sired. lt will be noted that shieldand frame function of such armor is to cushion the imare formed withoutsharp corners which 90 pact of the blow and distribute its force overmight cause injury. Vulcanized ber is prea relatively large area.Favorite materials ferred since it combines a desirable limited for suchguards are sole-leather and padding. degree of flexibility with ageneral rigidity. A protector of such material, if it is to ac- Therivets 13 offer a convenient method of complish its purpose, is heavyand uncomsecuring the edges of the shield to the frame, 95 fortable, andwill usually cause chafing. and at the same time hold the pad in placeMoreover, if the parts to be protected have and attach a harness forretaining the propreviously been injured, even the Idecreased tector inposition. shock transmitted thru the guard may be The harness in thepresent instance compainful or injurious. The protector of my prises apair of elastic fabric bands 14 adapt- 100 ed to surround the leg of thewearer, and a pair of straps 16 by Which the protector is supported fromthe belt 17.

The protect-or described Weighs less than 14 ounces including theharness. It altords cornplete protection to the area Within the frame;is fully ventilated, permitting free transpiration and lessening theliability of chaiing; and distributes the shocks over a relatively largearea of relatively insensitive tissue adjacent the protected area.Because of the elasticity of the protector as a Whole it is incapable ofinflicting injury to an opposing player.

I claim:

l. A protector comprising a rigid unyielding open frame adapted tocircumscribe the area of the body to be protected and to bear on thebody around said area, and a curved unyielding shield fixed to the frameand overlying the protected area and frame in spaced relation to saidframe intermediate its side edges and adapted to receive a blow anddistribute it over the portion of the body against Which the open framebears.

2. A protector comprising a rigid unyield in'g open frame adapted tocircumscribe the area of the body to be protected and a curvedunyielding shield xed to the frame and overlying the protected area andtrame in spaced relation to said frame intermediate its side edges andadapted to receive a blow and distribute it over the portion of the bodyagainst which the open frame bears, said frame being continuous andentirely surrounding the area to be protected.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

f CHARLES R. VOLZ.

